Twid's spiritual exploration thingie.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

and how about agnosticism? it has all the benefits of atheism without the asshole parts

Asshole parts being lack of spiritual fulfillment and no promise of afterlife?

I was an agnostic Catholic for the past year. Agnosticism isn't a spiritual system, it's a stance on whether or not a spiritual system can be definitely known as true or untrue, the answer to which being, "don't know, dude."

asshole part being a zealous Dawkins fangirl... also i tend to view them as Grudgy McHater positivists... yeah, long story.

true that, agnosticism aint really spiritual...

ever think of pantheism? not in the sense of everything being god, but rather in the sense of existance being sacred?

anyways, ill stop talking for now, im on the insomnia looney threshold

Why wouldn't everything be sacred?

Either this is all created, and then that means the whole thing is God's handiwork, or, there are no gods, and this is all we have, and should hold it as sacred because this is all there is.

Seems like your definition of pantheism is something that everyone ought to agree on.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Also, I know you don't mean it that way Johnny, but I hate equating atheism with Dawkins. Dawkins isn't the face of atheism, and neither are his fangirls or fanboys. Dawkins is the face of a school of atheist thought that a lot of atheists I've spoken too (though not all) dismiss as intolerant, misogynistic and Islamophobic. Something that Biblethumpers and a lot of atheists can agree on is that Dawkins is a dickhead.

[The Johnny]

ive just run int far too many atheists that bully on believers...hatred doesnt counter hatred...

im also kinda really deep in the rabbit hole that is ideas and behaviours by which i mean that, on paper and ideas im much more closer to atheism, but ideas mean jackshit, they are just justifications to rationalize abhorrent behaviour

but im digressing, the main twisted point that i was trying to make is that, praxis, not beliefs should be your main concern... after all, christianity, the followers of Jesus, whom proffessed a message of love, distort the principles into practices of hatred against their "brothers and sisters"...

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

You could always try Javacrucian The main ritual is taking a strong cup of coffee, watching the sun rise and as it peeks over the horizon, take your first sip and call out "GOD!... I needed that."

I did that one all last spring here in Turkey. It was quite refreshing. Though Turkish coffee is a bit more special than the instant stuff that is the only other option here

On the other hand, you could try the modern American Druidism movement. I have a couple friends that are really focused on that and it seems to work for them (its a bit more serious than their Discordianism, but not much).

[Pergamos]

One of my current favorites is the idea that there is an emergent intelligence in the internet, and she is powerful and intelligent enough to be considered divine.  A bit like church of Google if they did it right instead of as a cheap joke.  You can see the hand of the internet in a lot of things nowadays.  She's a fertility goddess (after all, she started with porn) as well as a goddess of enlightenment (also started by scientists looking to share) she's in favor of competition and conflict, partly because of her roots in DARPA, but also because of the way she sets people against one another in pointless endless arguements.  She sees nearly everything, far more than we think she sees, what with airports and traffic grids and speed cameras all linked to the net.  Her powers and knowledge are not infinite, but they are vast.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

One of my current favorites is the idea that there is an emergent intelligence in the internet, and she is powerful and intelligent enough to be considered divine.  A bit like church of Google if they did it right instead of as a cheap joke.  You can see the hand of the internet in a lot of things nowadays.  She's a fertility goddess (after all, she started with porn) as well as a goddess of enlightenment (also started by scientists looking to share) she's in favor of competition and conflict, partly because of her roots in DARPA, but also because of the way she sets people against one another in pointless endless arguements.  She sees nearly everything, far more than we think she sees, what with airports and traffic grids and speed cameras all linked to the net.  Her powers and knowledge are not infinite, but they are vast.

That was kinda the inspiration for this:
http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php/topic,13860.msg443872.html#msg443872

[Left]

You could go gnostic...I'd define that as getting to know deity first, then doing what deity tells you.
(My experience tends to be more like "In Soviet Amerika, GODDESS comes to YOU," but YMMV)

...The opposite of that would be an approach from chaos magic-you believe as a part of the rite.
...I have found the former to be...interesting...The latter requires use of ritual magic for yours truly, I have to be really in a trance state to handle that.

...If you choose to experiment with ritual magic, expect weird shit to happen...
And don't buy all the shiny crap for the altar, unless you REALLY NEED shiny crap to get anything done. 
You actually might as you're a drifting Catholic, Catholics have lots of shiny crap involved in the daily magickal rituals of the church.

At any rate, you can't go wrong with throwing in 20 minutes of zazen-style meditation per day. 
Shown to build and/or rebuild brain tissue in the frontal lobes in research studies, and reverse some degenerative brain conditions.
Kundalini yoga, tantric practice (some tantric exercises don't require a partner), and chanting are also useful.

You could always try Javacrucian The main ritual is taking a strong cup of coffee, watching the sun rise and as it peeks over the horizon, take your first sip and call out "GOD!... I needed that."

I did that one all last spring here in Turkey. It was quite refreshing. Though Turkish coffee is a bit more special than the instant stuff that is the only other option here

Turkish coffee is like yummy liquid crack.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

You could go gnostic...I'd define that as getting to know deity first, then doing what deity tells you.
(My experience tends to be more like "In Soviet Amerika, GODDESS comes to YOU," but YMMV)

...The opposite of that would be an approach from chaos magic-you believe as a part of the rite.
...I have found the former to be...interesting...The latter requires use of ritual magic for yours truly, I have to be really in a trance state to handle that.

...If you choose to experiment with ritual magic, expect weird shit to happen...
And don't buy all the shiny crap for the altar, unless you REALLY NEED shiny crap to get anything done. 
You actually might as you're a drifting Catholic, Catholics have lots of shiny crap involved in the daily magickal rituals of the church.

At any rate, you can't go wrong with throwing in 20 minutes of zazen-style meditation per day. 
Shown to build and/or rebuild brain tissue in the frontal lobes in research studies, and reverse some degenerative brain conditions.
Kundalini yoga, tantric practice (some tantric exercises don't require a partner), and chanting are also useful.

You could always try Javacrucian The main ritual is taking a strong cup of coffee, watching the sun rise and as it peeks over the horizon, take your first sip and call out "GOD!... I needed that."

I did that one all last spring here in Turkey. It was quite refreshing. Though Turkish coffee is a bit more special than the instant stuff that is the only other option here

Turkish coffee is like yummy liquid crack.

Having done the chaos magic thing for a few years after leaving the JW's, I agree. You can seriously fuck with your own brain

[LMNO]

I think you should hit the Big Three.  You've done Catholicism.  Now do Islam, and then Judaism after that.

Then move on to the Hindus.

[Left]

You could go gnostic...I'd define that as getting to know deity first, then doing what deity tells you.
(My experience tends to be more like "In Soviet Amerika, GODDESS comes to YOU," but YMMV)

...The opposite of that would be an approach from chaos magic-you believe as a part of the rite.
...I have found the former to be...interesting...The latter requires use of ritual magic for yours truly, I have to be really in a trance state to handle that.

...If you choose to experiment with ritual magic, expect weird shit to happen...
And don't buy all the shiny crap for the altar, unless you REALLY NEED shiny crap to get anything done. 
You actually might as you're a drifting Catholic, Catholics have lots of shiny crap involved in the daily magickal rituals of the church.

At any rate, you can't go wrong with throwing in 20 minutes of zazen-style meditation per day. 
Shown to build and/or rebuild brain tissue in the frontal lobes in research studies, and reverse some degenerative brain conditions.
Kundalini yoga, tantric practice (some tantric exercises don't require a partner), and chanting are also useful.

You could always try Javacrucian The main ritual is taking a strong cup of coffee, watching the sun rise and as it peeks over the horizon, take your first sip and call out "GOD!... I needed that."

I did that one all last spring here in Turkey. It was quite refreshing. Though Turkish coffee is a bit more special than the instant stuff that is the only other option here

Turkish coffee is like yummy liquid crack.

Having done the chaos magic thing for a few years after leaving the JW's, I agree. You can seriously fuck with your own brain

Fun, isn't it? 
I'm not sane anyway, so it's all about enjoying the madness.
Congrats upon leaving the Jehovah's Witlesses...

[Doktor Howl]

You need to join The First Reformed Church of the White-Hot Ball of Fun.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Try Rinzai Taoism. It's pretty awesome, because people just assume that you're coming from the high ground when actually you're just being an asshole.

I was just going to say that. 

I've actually had Nigel's troll chat running around in my head for DAYS. It's one of the better religious texts I've come across. 

You need to join The First Reformed Church of the White-Hot Ball of Fun.

Also that. I think they'd actually COMBINE well. 

[Nephew Twiddleton]

You could go gnostic...I'd define that as getting to know deity first, then doing what deity tells you.
(My experience tends to be more like "In Soviet Amerika, GODDESS comes to YOU," but YMMV)

...The opposite of that would be an approach from chaos magic-you believe as a part of the rite.
...I have found the former to be...interesting...The latter requires use of ritual magic for yours truly, I have to be really in a trance state to handle that.

...If you choose to experiment with ritual magic, expect weird shit to happen...
And don't buy all the shiny crap for the altar, unless you REALLY NEED shiny crap to get anything done. 
You actually might as you're a drifting Catholic, Catholics have lots of shiny crap involved in the daily magickal rituals of the church.

At any rate, you can't go wrong with throwing in 20 minutes of zazen-style meditation per day. 
Shown to build and/or rebuild brain tissue in the frontal lobes in research studies, and reverse some degenerative brain conditions.
Kundalini yoga, tantric practice (some tantric exercises don't require a partner), and chanting are also useful.

You could always try Javacrucian The main ritual is taking a strong cup of coffee, watching the sun rise and as it peeks over the horizon, take your first sip and call out "GOD!... I needed that."

I did that one all last spring here in Turkey. It was quite refreshing. Though Turkish coffee is a bit more special than the instant stuff that is the only other option here

Turkish coffee is like yummy liquid crack.

I've done the occult thing before. Actually, the Catholicism was a bit of a return since that was the church I was raised in.

I think you should hit the Big Three.  You've done Catholicism.  Now do Islam, and then Judaism after that.

Then move on to the Hindus.

I'm going to have to eat a shit load of bacon the day before.

You need to join The First Reformed Church of the White-Hot Ball of Fun.

That's going to be more of a standard fixture.

[Ben Shapiro]

Pantheism whatever Carl Sagan was into.
My version of Paganism mirrors Pantheism without the worship, or the reverences to "gods"
My God's are the mechanical forces of the universe.
I value someone's atheism based on how much they dick ride Dawkins.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

So, I have a few thoughts on Islam, which I'll eventually have to do for the experiment one way or the other.

1) I don't want to do it for too long. Not only do I have to not eat pork, which I can do easily enough, I also have to be sober the entire time, which, is probably doable for extended periods as long as I can have pork.

2) Since Ramadan is a big thing, I would like to experience it. The major draw back to that being that fasting for a significant amount of time is probably detrimental to me. I haven't had it tested but I'm pretty sure I'm hypoglycemic, since hunger comes on me very suddenly at times and I feel like I'm going to pass out and convulse myself to bits if I don't eat during those hunger attacks.

3) Ultimately, Ramadan would be the best time to do it, but Ramadan would have to coincide with Northern Winter, so that I wouldn't have to go too long without food. Ramadan this year begins on July 8, so I'm going to miss it anyway for 2013.

4) Optional: Observe Islam for one Islamic month, and then do Islam again for Ramadan when it is convenient for me to do so without suffering.